Wire-stretcher



G. R. FARRIS. WIRE STRETCHER. APPLICATioN FILED Nov. 10,1919.

Patented June 8, 1920.

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UNITED STATES GEORGE R. FARRIS, 0F STANBERRY, MISSOURI.

WIRE-STRETCI-IER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 8, 1920.

Application led November 10, 1919. Serial No. 336,996.

To all whom it m a'i/ Concern Be it known that I, GEORGE R. FARRrs, a citizen o1c the United States, residing at Stanberry, in the county of Gentry, State oi Missouri, have invented certain new and useful improvements in lVire-Stretchers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofA the invention, such as will enable others skilled .inv the art to which it appertains 'to make and use the same.

This invention relates to wire stretchers and it has for its object to provide a construction that may be manufactured and sold at a minimum cost and which furthermore will be most durable. Thus, not only will the first cost be little, but the cost of maintenance will be almost nothing. The greatest wear in the rack and lever type of stretcher, is of coursebetween the ratchets and their pivots and in the present construction, these pivots are so formed and arranged as to limit the wear entirely to the contacting surfaces of the pawls and pivots while eliminating wear between the pivots and the operating lever.

A further object of the invention is to provide a. simple and durable means for connecting the wire to be stretched, with a corresponding` part of the stretcher.

ln the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation showing the stretcher with the operating lever vertical, the rack bar being connected with the post and the rock lever being connected with a wire to be stretched.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2-2 of Fie'. 1.

big. 3 is a section looking to the right.

Referring to the drawings the present stretcher comprises a bar having rack teeth 6 and 7 on its opposite longitudinal edges and having attached to one end a chain 8 which in practice is passed around a post or other support, and has a terminal hook for engagement with the chain between the bar and post to hold the bar to the latter.

In connection with the bar 5 there is employed a rock lever 9, having a handle 10 at one end while the other end is bifurcated with resultant spaced arms 11 and 12 between which the bar 5 is slidably received with one set of rack teeth in the direction of on line 33 of Fig. 1

the handle 10 and the other in the direction ot the free ends of the arms.

Between the arms 11 and 12 and at opposite sides of the bar 5, are disposed pawls 1LT and 15, both of these pawls extending from opposite edges of the arms 11 and 12 and having at one end the handles 1T and 1S respectively while at the opposite ends there are hooks 19 and 20 which latter are movable with Ythe pawls into and out of engagement with thecorresponding rack teeth 6 and 7. Through the hooked ends of the pawls are passed rods 21 and 22 respectively, having eyes at their' ends with which are engaged the corresponding ends of helical springs 23 and 24, at opposite sides of the rack bar, these springs serving to hold the hook ends of the pawls normally and yieldably in engagement with the rack teeth. To hold the pawls pivotally between the arms 11 and 12 a U bolt 25 is passed through the arms 11 and 12, with its bight or connecting portion against the arm 12, the arms of this U bolt pivotallyengaging the pawls.

lilith the above described construction it will be understood that as the lever 9 is rocked in the common plane of the pawls, the latter will climb along the rack bar 5 in one direction, the hooks alternately serving as a 'ulcrum block with the corresponding U bolt arm as a ulcrurn for the lever, to move the other pawl to the next tooth of its corresponding rack. During this operation, the helical springs insure the snapping of the hooks of the pawls into holding relation to their corresponding rack teeth.

When it is desired to slide the rock lever to the opposite end ot the rack bar, the handle portions 1T and 18 of the pawls are grasped and pressed toward each other, with the result that the hooks are swung from the rack teeth and the portions of the pawls adjacent 4the hooks contact with the edges of the rack teeth, over which they may then be readily slid.

T ie wire to be stretched is connected with the rock lever through the medium of a rod 26 having an eye 27 at one end that engages an eye 2S connected with the lever arm 12. This rod passes slidably through guides 29 on the rack oar and beyond the end opposite to the chains referred to, the free end of the bar being provided with any desired type of wire engaging means.

It is found in practice, that by reason of the use of the U bolt, the pivots of the pawls are prevented from spreading and also from rotating and in consequence, they do not wear the arms 1l and l2 of the rock lever. rlhe result is that the pawls haveV always their proper relation to the rack bar and the entire construction operates smoothly at all times. lt will further be noted that the construction comprises extremely few parts, each of which may be` manufactured at a low cost and that the assembling of the Vparts is extremely simple and economical.

the pawls and on which the pawls are pivotally movable, means for holding the pawls yieldably in engagement with rack teeth of the bar at corresponding edges of the latter and means for connecting with the lever, a wire to be stretched. 1

2. A wire stretcher comprising a bar having rack teeth at opposite longitudinal edges and having means at one end for connecting it with a support, a bifurcated lever between the furcations of which the bari is slidably received, a pawl at each side of the rack bar between the furcations of the lever and having each a rod disposed through one end and having terminal eyes, helical springs connecting the eyes of the pawls at opposite sides of the rack bar, a U bolt passed through the furcations of the lever and providing pivots for the pawls, and means for connecting with the lever, a wire to be stretched.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the'presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE R. FARRIS.

Witnesses:

ANDREW CANDAY, O. L. EUGART. y 

